


is this what you want

by jrangel



Series: ask me anything [4]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Committed Relationship, F/M, M/M, Moving In Together, Past Relationship(s), Past Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 20:21:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10368639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jrangel/pseuds/jrangel
Summary: They’re taking strides to make this arrangement of theirs a little more permanent. Alex and Thomas decide it’s time to make a home together.- - -Follows:what are we, what are you,frequently asked questions, andask me my name, my permission, and my forgiveness.





	1. Alexander

 

It’s early, the kind of early where the sunlight that streams into the apartment is honey gold and the quiet is thick.

Breaking through the veil of silence, the coffee machine gurgles loudly in the kitchen where he’s left it to brew, the noise filtering down the hall to the living room where Alexander stands idly by the window surveying the layout of his territory.

Their territory, he amends.

The stuff, the things that fill the space, that line the shelves and decorate the walls, mostly belong to Thomas, but when Alex fills his lungs, island citrus and charcoal heat fill his nose, curling in his chest pleasantly, cohabitation having created an alluring blend of the both of them. He’s content that he doesn’t need much more than this, this sense of _them_ that permeates every room of the new spacious apartment they’ve recently come to inhabit. He had never been one to place too much sentiment in items, the things you could lose or have taken. When you spend most of your life without money, you learn how to get by spending very little of it.

What Alex has discovered relatively quickly, living with Thomas, merging their lives as they’re attempting to do, is that the inverse is also true. When money is a constant, always in abundance and at hand, you don’t have to think twice about what you use it for.

Moving in together hadn’t been the difficult part. The real struggle, Alex reflects, the site of friction in an otherwise frictionless transition, had come when Thomas had begun addressing the state of Alex’s modest collection of possessions by resolving to add to it. 

It had started when Thomas had offered to help him unpack, an idea formulating in his head while hanging the omega’s meager wardrobe in the walk-in, and later, a plan in action when he coaxed Alex into joining him on a trip to his favorite tailor in downtown New York. The omega had been less than pleased to discover that Thomas expected him to be more than just a casual observer, but he had allowed the alpha his fun when he asked their attendant to take Alex’s measurements, was even secretly pleased as Thomas leered and gaped in delight as Alex was covered in fine fabrics, one beautiful garment after another. 

“I’m wearing a whole lot of shit I can’t afford,” Alex had joked offhandedly, before asking when Thomas was going to begin his own fitting, worried about wasting the nice attendant’s time with their silliness.

“Yeah,” Thomas had replied, letting the word stretch obscenely off his tongue. “In the interest of honesty, I’m kind of good on suits right now. We’re actually here for you, sweet thing.”

“For me?” Alex had squeaked, color draining from his face.

Humoring an appreciative boyfriend’s exhibitionist kink had been one thing, but accepting the reality of a price tag as large as the one they were racking up was a big ask for Alexander.

Blessedly left alone by their observant attendant, Thomas had crowded Alex against the dressing room mirror in reaction to Alex’s slowly souring scent, the same mirror that only moments before Alex had used to admire the sharp lines of the navy blue suit he was adorning. His heartbeat had been rabbit quick, pattering rapidly against his chest, and the nervous rambling that had followed only seemed to gear him up more.

“That thing I said on our first date. That was a joke, you know?” Alex remembers having fiddled with the collar of the alpha’s shirt in a bid to do something with his hands, embarrassed by the extravagance of the jacket draped over his shoulders, numbers adding up in his head despite his best efforts to quiet the nagging voice that he wasn’t worth this much, that there had been a mistake. “I never want you to feel like I’m leeching off you. That would be… That would be terrible. It’s a really deep-seeded fear of mine, and I never want that to be a thing with us.”

Thomas had listened to his concerns intently, nodding when Alexander explained how this kind of attention threw him for a loop because it’s Thomas’s money and these are luxuries Alexander had rarely, if ever considered available.

“I hear where you’re coming from,” Thomas had replied eventually once Alex had purged himself of the guilt that had turned toxic inside of him. “But it’s not as simple as drawing a straight line down what’s my money and what’s your money anymore. We’re in this thing together; we’re taking these steps. And you’re not a leech. You’re my partner and I want to take care of you.”

“You do take care of me,” Alex assured him, before adding, “But maybe not to the tune of hundreds of dollars at a time, you know? I’m still paying my share of the rent on our place. I’m still helping with the bills. I need to be able to contribute.”

“You buy me things all of the time though,” Thomas had argued half-heartedly, butting their foreheads together. “All those succulents planters in my office weren’t off my dime.”

“You’re worth it, babe.” Alexander had joked back, a note of sarcasm entering his voice. He knew that Thomas knew those planters had been dirt-cheap, purchased on off trips to the flea markets after the alpha admitted to missing the gardens at his estate in Monticello. He had done it to make Thomas happy, which he understood then was exactly what Thomas was trying to do for him.

In the end, the urge to fight Thomas on the issue had bled away and a couple of weeks later four beautiful bespoke suits and a tuxedo had come to hang on the omega’s side of the closet.

Remembering that day now, Alex can pinpoint it as the moment he lost all credibility with the alpha when it came to arguing against joint purchases.

It wasn’t long after that instance that Thomas had pulled Alexander down onto the couch one night, clicking through a series of bookmarked webpages of well-crafted, dark-stained desks that he had been thinking about for the apartment, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth as he awaited a response on which Alex would prefer for the space.

“It’s your money,” Alex had reminded him, offering only neutral comments in reply, watchful for the trap that he knew was being set.

“Our money,” Thomas had stressed, opening another tab on his web browser. “And anyway, it’s practical. We both need to be able to work at home and while working on the couch is fine, I think a desk will be better for those long nights where we just need to spread out.”

The omega had whined again how this was really a one-person decision, in short _not his_ , before his eye caught on a price he could live with attached to a desk that actually looked halfway decent. 

“That one.” He said.

And like that, the desk had arrived within the week. 

It took a trio of well built alpha men to carry it up the stairway into their apartment, alpha men who looked Alex in the eye because they recognized him from the recent segment on the upcoming anti-discrimination vote that aired on the evening news, and who shook Thomas’s hand before leaving, generous tip for their time in tow. It’s while seated at this desk that they’ve taken to sharing when the most recent concern in a series of relatively small concerns takes root in the omega’s mind, Alex’s eye caught on a photograph that he hadn’t paid much mind to before then, that he had to wonder how he could have possibly missed. 

In all fairness, Thomas had brought many photographs into their new place of his family that the alpha had proceeded to cover the hallway walls in, decorating the bookcases with, and scattering them about. It had taken a fair amount of coaxing, but Thomas had even talked Alex into displaying the lone photograph of his own mother on windowsill in their living room. Despite all of those photos, it was this one in particular that had caused him pause one day.

Framed in antique brass was a worn photograph of a young woman. Her face was olive and oval, baby hairs unruly at her temple, and tight braids that fell down the slope of her neck. Her round eyes gazed shyly off to the side, perhaps unaware of the camera when the image was captured, her bottom lip just barely pulled in by the edge of blunt, white teeth.

Alexander didn’t know who this woman was. 

But he could guess.

Her beauty was radiant but understated and Alexander realized dully that he shouldn’t have been surprised.

There were parts of each other’s lives that they hadn’t given more than a cursory pass over and while it wasn’t a symptom of poor communication, it was something they had found that they needed to make a concerted effort to address when it became apparent. Sitting at the desk that Thomas had just purchased to cement their move into the apartment, staring at the image of his boyfriend’s deceased bondmate felt like one of those moments.

The coffee machine quiets as the last of the hot water runs through the coffee grounds, filling the pot to the brim, and the omega returns to the kitchen to pour himself a cup, burning his tongue with the first sip he takes, and taking another sip soon after anyway. 

Relishing the burn of scolding coffee down his throat, Alex taps two fingers against his mug, resolved that today would be the day that he asks.

Socked feet shuffling against the hardwood, Alex wanders back down the hallway toward the living room, carefully sipping at the steaming liquid cradled between his hands. He’s unsurprised to see that Thomas, left alone in bed, has gotten up and has settled himself comfortably on the couch, his phone resting precariously on his knee as he disinterestedly scrolls through his email.

“G’morning,” Alex murmurs once he sees him, his voice cracking slightly in disuse.

He knows he’s puffy eyed, knows that his hair done up in an incomprehensibly messy knot of elastic looks like a small furry animal that’s hibernating on his head. He also knows that Thomas is not at all startled by the way he looks, knows that it’s because seeing him first thing in the morning has long ago become familiar and quietly admired.

“Come here,” the alpha insists, shifting his arm to rest on the back of the couch, the space by him open in invitation.

Alexander drops down onto the sofa in an open sprawl, head tilting back to rest on Thomas’s shoulder, careful not to spill the contents of his mug even as his body becomes boneless against the alpha. Behind him, Thomas’s arm slinks over his shoulder and Alexander sighs into the contact.

“So, maybe there’s no good way to bring this up,” Alex starts, making an effort to keep his voice light.

Behind him, the alpha’s breathing is a soothing constant in Alexander’s ear, languid huffs of air that blow heat right into the sensitive skin of his neck. Silent as Alex struggles to get the words out, Thomas’s fingers move to pluck carefully at the band precariously keeping the omega’s hair up, pulling it away so that his face is framed in wisps of dark strands.

“And I understand if you would rather not, uh… talk about it. I know that it’s personal,” Alex continues, humming at the light touches to his scalp that follow.

“What’s on your mind?” Thomas asks, unworried.

“You mentioned once that you were mated, before we met,” Alex inhales their scents, comforts himself with the reminder of everything they are, everything they still have time to be, and finishes his thought. “And since then, you’ve never really talked about it. I think we need to talk about it.”

He shifts, hoping to catch his boyfriend’s expression before it shutters into careful blankness, and is lucky to snatch a glimpse of Thomas’s brow furrowing like he’s thinking it over, like there’s anything worth thinking over. 

“What do you want me to say?” Thomas says eventually.

“I don’t know. Anything really. Tell me the things you want me to know.”

The arm still draped over Alexander’s shoulder tightens around him. “You want the whole story then?”

“Sure.” The pressure is nice, welcomed even, and Alex leans in to kiss the alpha’s cheek, quickly, before he can check the impulse. “Don’t spare me the details.”

“Okay.” Thomas’s free hand closes some of the distance between them, fiddling with the ends of Alexander’s too-long hair. “It’s uh… it’s not all pretty. But it’s what happened.”

Alex smiles softly, can only hope that his expression comes off as reassuring. “I’m listening.”

Thomas nods, but his gaze lingers on where his fingers are curled in the inky black strands for a moment. “Remember how, when I told you about how paranoid my parents were with my safety growing up, how I had escorts to keep me out of trouble?

Alex bobs his head once.

“So,” Thomas begins, searching for the words he wants. “When I was fourteen I had the same escort for about eight months, which was the longest anyone had ever held the position. Her name was Margo.” 

The alpha’s eyes flit upward.

“She was four years older than me. Omegan and sharp as a whip. Came to live in one of the spare rooms after the first month, and my parents never told me why exactly, but I noticed things that made me wonder. Like the clothing she wore was always loose, the kind that swallowed you up, and one day when we were out in the garden, helping Momma, I saw something that looked like a gash healing on her arm. I never asked about it. Didn’t think it was my business.”

He shakes his head. “We were friends, though. We got along. She treated me like I was normal and I was lonely. They don’t actually encourage a lot of socialization with the other alphas at reeducation centers.”

The alpha looks suddenly unsure how to proceed and quick to reassure him, Alex wraps his boyfriend’s hand in his own and squeezes lightly. Swallowing, Thomas forces a weak smile before continuing.

“There was this party. My parents both worked for an organization that did a lot of fundraising for different groups, and it was the kind of event where networking and securing checks made out in large amounts was the endgame of the evening.” The alpha sighs. “Anyway, Margo and I were up in my room, hiding like we usually did during events like that. She never seemed interested in joining in and I didn’t like how people looked at me. But we got hungry and it was my turn to wade through my parent’s guests to get our supper, so I went.” 

The alpha cringes, his hand clamping down on Alex’s. “There was this woman…”

Alex can’t help it when a whine builds in his throat, his nature revolting as registers the alpha’s scent beginning to sour.

“She was an omega. Older. She cornered me in the kitchen. I didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but her scent was everywhere, flooding the room until all I could focus on was how enticing the curve of her hips looked, how soft her skin would feel on mine, and… I was too young to recognize what she was doing, was too inexperienced to do anything about it.” 

He realizes that his own bitter scent must be affecting Thomas as well because the alpha’s face contorts just noticeably, his breaths growing shallow so as to keep the smell of distressed omega from distracting him.

“She touched me.” The alpha frowns and rubs a hand over his tired face. “I had never been touched like that before. Slid her fingers on top of my sweater, along my ribs. Wrapped them around my arms and whispered all this shit about how good I was being for her. It was this surreal moment where I thought I was special… I thought I wanted it. Then the door opened and that feeling disappeared all at once, and it was like the fog had been ripped away, all that cotton candy softness was replaced with razor sharp realization that it hadn’t been real, none of it.” 

Alex has to force himself to keep engaged with Thomas’s words, to stop his mind from entertaining all manners in which he could kill this woman, can’t stop himself from imagining himself tossing her off a dock somewhere and watching as she goes under. He would do it too. He would do anything to erase the expression of numb recollection on his boyfriend’s face, anything to heal the trauma that lies right under the surface of that forced dullness.

Thomas continues. “These two beta men had come crashing into the kitchen looking for her and it doesn’t matter that she had me backed up against the pantry doors, it doesn’t matter that I was a good fifteen years younger than her, or that I was as good as muzzled. None of that mattered.” 

Alexander lets out a low whine.

“One of them grabs me by the back of my neck and throws me down, puts his foot on my chest so that I have no choice but to stay there, and leans in until tears are leaking out down my face. He tells me to keep my filthy knot in my pants and grinds his heel in, wants to hear me whine. Tells me he feels for me, realizes how pathetic it must be that the only way I’d ever get my dick wet would be by forcing myself on pretty, defenseless omegas when no one was watching. The woman, who’s quietly straightening her dress behind him, finally looks at me with this sneer on her face like she’s starting to buy into this guy’s story, like he’s got it right and she wasn’t the one who had me right where she wanted me. And with no hint of hesitation she joins in, calls me a monster. A predator. The dirty little feral that thinks it can do whatever it wants.”

Alex feels an absurd urge to start crying. He fails to suppress it because a second later a gentle thumb comes to swipe across his check and draws away from his face wet, and Thomas is looking at him now with a muted sadness, running his thumb under the omega’s eye again to catch more tears before they can trail down the omega’s face. Shame descends on him because his pain isn’t what matters right now and Alex feels suddenly pathetic, needing Thomas to comfort him like this when it’s the alpha who needs support. 

Before Alex can apologize however, Thomas continues.

“In the end, I was lucky.” Thomas says, his thumb finally coming away dry when it makes another pass across Alexander’s cheek. “Because Margo comes searching for me. By then I’d been gone longer than it should’ve taken me to fix both of us a plate and she steps into the kitchen right as this beta tugs me up by my collar.” 

Thomas chuckles, a sort of twinkle returning to his eyes, and Alex is grateful beyond words for the feeling of levity the sound brings along with it.

“I had never seen Margo so much as raise her voice once in all of the time I’d known her, but over this man’s shoulder I see her nostrils flare on an inhale and she’s snarling on the exhale. She slaps this dude clean across the face without missing a beat and then raises a finger at this guy’s friend when he takes a step towards us and dares him to take another. She turns on the woman and hisses like there’s steam spitting through her teeth that there are security cameras everywhere and even if there weren’t every omega within a mile could smell the stench of desperation on her and would know in an instant what she had done.”

Thomas manages a grin that looks halfway genuine, his hands just cupping Alexander’s face gently now that the omega has calmed, thumb stroking along his cheekbone.

“I think it would have gone on, but then a member of the house staff wanders in, sees me, and turns to Margo with the sort of deference that only fear and respect provokes. She tells him to escort the three of them off of the property like that was something she did all the time, says in no uncertain terms that their welcome on the estate has been rescinded indefinitely, and not to worry about informing my parents because she knows them all by name and she’ll be better at relaying the message.”

Tilting his head to the side, the alpha eyes go a little distant even as he continues his ministration.

“It’s then that Margo drags me out of there and tucks us both in my father’s study, out of sight of the partygoers, and I’m shaking badly at this point, I think I’m having an anxiety attack, so she starts talking. She tells me how ‘monster’ is more verb than noun, because you have to do monstrous things to truly be a monster. She taps at the scar on her forearm, the one we didn’t talk about, and tells me how feral comes in all sorts of forms. How it can even hide in plain sight under the guise of prey. She tells me that she has known predators in her life, had even come to love some, and then she puts her hands on my shoulders and shakes me, hard enough that it was like my bones rattled in her grip, like she’s trying to jar something loose in my chest, and in this voice I’d never heard from her before, she says, that’s not you. That’s. Not. You.”

A rumble not unlike a growl rolls around in the alpha’s chest, and Thomas heaves out a long breath.

“I loved her so fiercely in that moment, I didn’t think my heart was big enough to contain it.”

A question pops into Alex’s head. “You said earlier that she only worked for your family for eight months. What happened?”

“I kissed her.” Thomas says, cracking a smile, his eyes focusing on Alexander’s. “I told her she was perfect and then she cried into my shirt and listed off all the reasons that couldn’t possibly be true.” Another sigh comes from the alpha. “She resigned as my escort a week later, left Virginia a week after that.”

“What?” Alex spits out.

Thomas cocks his head again. “She said something like ‘she loved me as much as she feared for me’, which was, she clarified, more than she knew how to cope with. Said she was concerned how her influence would shape me, me being so young. Thought it would be better if I didn’t have any false impressions, didn’t grow too attached. She was worried about hurting me down the line.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, not following the thread of Thomas’s words.

“Her heart wasn’t very strong,” Thomas explains. “Cardiovascular disease ran in her family and she knew she didn’t have an abundance of years on her side. She wouldn’t have been able to survive childbirth if it ever came to that, wasn’t even sure if she could survive the exertion from a mating heat. Of course, she didn’t tell me any of that until almost a decade later when I found her again. You don’t have that kind of conversation with a boy.”

Alexander’s eyebrows shoot upward. “You went looking?”

Thomas nods, mellowing. “I found her in Georgia and tried to charm her back to Virginia, which she found ridiculous, but I was persistent. She saw how well I was doing for myself, working my way up the ranks, saw how I had taken to the rest of the reeducation that she had missed, was impressed in her own quiet way. I did everything I could do to make her believe that I knew what I was asking for, that I understood that the ephemeral was all she could offer me. I knew that if I couldn’t convince her that I would be able to survive without her she would have never accepted me back into her life. She couldn’t stand the idea of me breaking like so many alpha do after their mates pass.”

Alexander hooks a hand over Thomas’s wrist, rubs at the skin. “How long did you have with her?”

“A little over six years.” Thomas discloses quietly. “I was thirty-one when her heart finally gave out.”

He catches sight of a pink love bite on Thomas’s throat, left behind by his teeth. Unthinkingly, Alex reaches out and rubs his thumb over it, as Thomas hums into the touch, and the imprint of teeth against skin stays put even as he presses just hard enough to be uncomfortable to the alpha. “But she didn’t give you a mark.”

“Margo didn’t claim me back no.” Thomas tilts his neck, giving Alexander the access he desires. “Said she wanted to leave me unblemished for the person I wound up with for the long haul.”

They share a look then, neither of them speaking with words, but something passes between them that’s difficult to describe, and then Thomas is leaning forward and burying his face into the omega’s shoulder, shuddering out a long, tired breath.

“I understood why she left that first time, but I hated it. I hate that she took the choice of it out of my hands. We could have had more time.”

Alex waits until it’s clear Thomas has nothing more to say on the subject, and then in a gentle voice says, “I wish I could have met her, Thomas.” 

He brushes a hand through Thomas’s curls. “I love you,” he adds because he doesn’t think the reminder is too out of place for the moment.

They stay like that for a long time, slumped into each other on the couch as the morning sun creeps slowly across the apartment through the window.

“I love you too.” Thomas says into Alex’s collarbone, the words muffled but clear enough for his ears to catch. Alexander watches as Thomas moves his gaze up, until he’s looking at him from beneath his chin, and another look passes between them, one that has heat pooling across his ribs and burning pleasantly down his throat.

 

***

 

It’s later, when Thomas is down on his knees, it’s those seconds in which he has Alexander’s ass checks pried apart with gentle fingers, has him split him open on his tongue, and writhing as the alpha enthusiastically laps up his slick, drawing the flat of his tongue across the omega’s quivering hole with a single-mindedness that’s approaching fixation, that Alex becomes aware that he’ll never be all right if this man leaves him. 

He’s screaming with it, with this all-consuming need for _moremoremore_ , and Thomas is giving him everything he needs and more and more and… and when his head pops up from between the part in his thighs, he looks at Alexander a little lingeringly, like Alex has surprised him somehow, like Thomas is seeing him for the first time and he’s in awe. They slow down and what follows is perhaps some of the tenderest sex they’ve ever had as a couple and it leaves Alex sobbing, sounds of surprise and surrender torn from him with each slinking thrust of Thomas’s hips. Alex arches into the sensation of the alpha’s cock filling him up, wants their mouths to be touching and is gifted that as well, as though the alpha is fluent in the language of his needs, and has no issue putting his generous tongue to good use.

“Alex, Alex…” Thomas’s voice is soft, almost wounded when he parts long enough to pant in Alex’s ear. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give you, if you asked. You know that? My sweet thing, do you even know what you do to me? How completely yours I am?”

And Alex comes with a sharp hitch of his breath, body seizing as his vision whites out, the pleasure almost unbearable in its intensity.

Afterwards, he rolls over on top of Thomas, his legs carefully intertwining in a way that’ll make it impossible for the other man to disentangle himself without permission. Once he’s comfortable, Thomas settles his hands on Alexander’s lower back and pets him until his eyelids become heavy and he’s struggling to stay awake. Alexander gives into exhaustion and lets his eyes flutter shut.

 

***

 

They must shift positions sometime in the night because Alexander wakes in a blind panic as the mattress dips and the pleasant warmth that’s pressed against him retreats somewhere back into the dark. Instinct has him clawing outward until his hand comes in contact with flesh and his nails bite down into joints. His eyelids slide open and it occurs to the omega that it’s only Thomas, the alpha having moved away in his sleep. Half asleep himself and operating under the guidance of more primal urges, Alex snarls unhappily and tugs the alpha back immediately, frantically nuzzling into Thomas’s neck, enticing the alpha to stay close with little affectionate touches. 

Once he’s secure that the cuff of his fingers encircling his boyfriend’s wrist will keep the alpha from wandering off again, Alexander is able to sleep.

 

***

 

Honey gold rays filter in from window. 

Their apartment is bathed in dream-like quiet. 

Another glorious morning primed for domestic bliss, except for the fact that Thomas wakes up with bruises decorating his forearm, imprints of Alexander’s fingers blooming in dark patches on his skin. 

They laugh it off and Thomas teases, but Alex is unable to shake the desire to cling for the rest of the day, barely allowing Thomas room to function, always on his heels, filling the gaps left between them fitfully. He catches a hint of worry creep into Thomas’s expression after dinner which means his weirdly codependent behaviors have been noted, so he sends off a quick string of texts to John asking if he’d be up to meet for drinks, hoping that space away from the apartment will do him some good.

They meet at a bar halfway between their places, a little dive-ish and geared toward a younger crowd than them, but unpretentious and cheap enough for their needs. Service is slow, unable to keep up with the bustle of bodies filling the space, all vying for a drink from the bar before the hour gets too late, before weekend freedoms roll into weekday responsibilities. 

Well versed in the sort of emotionally constipated meltdowns Alexander tended to gravitate towards, John is aloof and borderline distracted for the first half an hour of the meet up, regaling Alex with his recent forays into the Grindr dating pool, recounting nightmare after nightmare for the omega’s amusement. Halfway through the fourth story about a nervous omega who, after leading John to his bedroom, had spent thirty minutes making a playlist for them to have sex to on his laptop, Alexander has to beg John to stop, unable to keep from dribbling bourbon down his chin as he giggles into his cup.

They spend the next ten minutes or so scoping out the viability of the bar’s patrons for the night, Alex pointing out a curvy beta chatting to her presumed date a few stools down from them, while John focused in on an attractive South Asian gentleman with elaborately coiffed hair by the booths.

“Yo the bartender’s cute too, right?” John says as he tips his glass back.

Alex regards the brunet standing behind the beer tap from his barstool with a critical eye, his lip curling in thought. 

“I guess?” He settles on, uncertain of what qualities his friend has caught on to. “He’s a little generic Ken doll for me.”

“Yeah, I see that.” John murmurs easily, thumbing at the condensation gathering around his rum and coke. “Still, he’s got a nice smile.”

“I’m actually getting serious serial killer vibes over here.” Alex continues, laughing a bit too loudly when the beta elbows him playfully in the side. “But really. What do you even like in a guy?”

John clicks his tongue thoughtfully. “Give me a jacked up twink who uh, I don’t know, thinks to call his mom everyday and I’d be happy.”

Alex laughs. “You serious?”

“Nah, I think I just described myself.” John’s attention flits away from their bartender long enough to curiously take in the stocky alpha who’s leaned up against the bar a few feet from them. “I do really like thick eyebrows. Is that weird?”

“Yeah? Then why aren’t you and Laf still together?”

John squints at the omega bemusedly for a second, his brow creasing. “Ummmm ‘cause Laf’s in France. That’s why.”

“And that’s the only reason?” Alex presses, fingers tapping anxiously at his glass.

John snorts and takes another sip of his drink, looking at Alexander through the corner of his eye. “Is this really why we’re here tonight?”

Alex grins a little unconvincingly. “Just roll with me and answer the question.”

Shrugging, John shakes his head and asks, “You asking me if I’m still in love with him?”

“I wasn’t, but let’s follow up on that. That sounds interesting.”

“I mean, yeah.” John confesses, a hint of discomfort finally entering his voice. “We didn’t— It wasn’t a bad break. We just— it wasn’t gonna work is all.”

Alex synthesizes what he thinks he’s hearing. “So, you both gave up?” 

John lets out a noise that’s almost like a laugh, his eyes crinkling, and he turns to look at Alex with a dopey sort of smile that makes John look more like a toddler than an adult. “Listen to you with your ‘gave up’. Nobody _gave up_ , you dork. We just didn’t want enough of the same things. And it wouldn’t have been enough, just wanting love. Love wasn’t gonna suddenly put us both on the same path, you know?” 

“But isn’t that how you make it work, by making sacrifices for each other?” 

“Nah, man.” The beta pauses and drains the rest of his glass, chewing on the half melted ice left at the bottom before continuing. “You don’t get points for something you decided was a sacrifice in your head. It’s gotta be something that the other person actually wants, that you know they want because you’ve talked about it. Like, Laf would have never asked me to move for him. And me going to France, when that was never a thing he asked me to do for him, that wouldn’t have solved shit either, it probably would have just gotten us fighting.”

“Did you guys consider long distance?”

John brushes back a few erratic curls, lips pursed. “And how long would that have worked? A few months? Years? Nah, man.”

John pushes his empty glass away and signals for another.

“Look, it wasn’t our time. But like, if Laf came back and decided that he was staying for good, I’d go after him again in a heartbeat, I ain’t gonna lie about that. I’d make that boy _swoon_ , you hear me? But until then, I can’t put my life on pause. I gotta keep doing me.”

Mr. Nice Smile quickly attends to John’s empty glass, sliding a replacement over to him slyly while unapologetically ignoring several people ahead of him in the queue. The beta winks flirtatiously, gracious for the service, before turning back to Alex.

“But what’s all this talk about Laf anyway? That’s some old news. What’s really got you twisted up, baby girl?”

Gulping down the remainder of his bourbon, Alex grimaces at the burn of alcohol down his throat and slaps the bar once, before saying, “Thomas told me the story of how he met his first bondmate yesterday, which became the story of how he… well, you know. How he lost her. It’s kind of tripping me up.” 

He raises his own hand, trying to signal the bartender, and is unsurprised when he fails to catch the beta’s attention. “Can you imagine? Committing to someone who could drop at any time? Each day waking up, being like, is it today? Is this the last of the time I’ll ever have with you?”

John raises his own hand as well and points to Alex, and like magic another bourbon appears in front of them. Putting on a little extra with the flash of perfect white teeth that he sends the guy’s way, John picks up in the conversation where Alex left off. “Okay, I doubt Thomas woke up every day with that morbid bullshit at the forefront of his mind— but also, like, nothing lasts forever. We’re all gonna be on the other side of the dirt sooner or later. Like, you can share a bed, but you can’t share a grave, right?”

Alex sets down his drink a bit harshly. “Sorry, was that supposed to be encouraging, because that was super bleak.”

John lets out a loud huff, trying for indignant. “What? You think he got it wrong staying with her just ‘cause he knew she would die? Like, he shoulda left and saved himself from the pain or whatever?”

Alex jumps in to correct him. “No, it just got me thinking. Like if that was our situation, me and Thomas, what would it be like to lose him.”

Nodding his head like he’s beginning to understand, John taps his palms against the bar a couple of times restlessly. “Okay, okay. So you got scared, is that it? But Thomas ain’t sick, dude. And he’s pretty fucking head over heels for you. Y’all just got that apartment together and everything. What more do you want the universe to do for you? Seems like you’ve got him locked down, you know what I’m saying?”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s enough.” Alex mutters.

“So, take him as a bondmate. Make it official.” John tosses out causally.

Alex stiffens and goes pale. “I can’t take care of a baby.”

“They make condoms for bonding heats.” The beta assures him. “No baby Hamies until you two lovebirds are nice and ready.”

Alex reluctantly examines how he feels about the prospect of creating a bond, finds that he doesn’t mind the notion, thinks that maybe he could want that… “Why do I have to be having all these thoughts now? The vote on his bill is up in a few weeks and he’s already running himself ragged. I don’t want to distract him with something this big, and… Fuck. I’ll have to go off the pill. Damn I forgot that part. The fucking mood swings are going to be killer.”

“You should start on that soon then.” John chimes in. “I’ve heard it can take up to three months before your hormones go back to baseline.”

The omega runs a hand across his face. “You made that up. ”

He can’t believe he’s actually entertaining this. Once upon a time, similar thoughts of commitment, of _bonding_ , would have sent Alex spiraling into a panic, but the distinct feelings of fear and doubt that usually invade his thoughts by now are curiously absent and the notion of spending the rest of his life with Thomas just seems to click into place with no fuss. Like it’s right, as easy as a piece of the puzzle slotting with its complement.

The beta shrugs. “I mean I’m not one hundred percent on it. You should probably ask your doctor.”

“I’ll look it up when I get home.” Alex drums his fingers against the bar, his brain working over this new development. “Still, we could have the actual conversation after the vote, after all the buzz has died down and he’s less tightly wound. I wouldn’t want him feeling pressured into anything, like he should be free to really think it over, right? Have a discussion?”

“Awww.” John coos a little teasingly but mostly with affection. “It’s inappropriate because you’re like a grown man, but I’m really proud of you, Hamie. Way to figure your shit out!” 

Before he can block it John presses a wet kiss to Alex’s forehead, crowing with laughter when the omega sputters and wipes viciously at the damp spot. “My baby girl’s gettin’ serious!”

With the way Alexander squeals as the beta’s fingers find their way into his sides, it’s a miracle when only a few of their closest neighbors pay them any attention. A sloshed beta asks what they’re celebrating and John’s quick to wrap an arm around his squirming friend’s shoulders, spins a lie about it being Alex’s stag night, and the slurring beta orders them three shots of exorbitantly expensive Japanese whiskey to share.

It’s not the most honorable move, but by the time the omega realizes what’s happening the whiskey has already been poured and the two betas are looking at him expectantly, their own glasses hovering in preparation for a cheers. Alexander picks up his own shot and clinks his glass to theirs. 

Waste not, want not and all that.

 

***

 

There’s a blue pill wheel sitting on the lower shelf of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom of their apartment. It sits between a tub of shea butter that’s mostly used and a tube of gel that Alex has been trying to wean himself off of using at all since Thomas hates how it fucks with the soft texture of his hair. 

When Alex gets back from the bar, he’s only slightly tipsy and just a tad pink in the apples of his checks. After a quick round of hello kisses and a few minutes of scent marking perched comfortably in Thomas’s lap, he makes his way into their shared bathroom. He finds himself standing on the cold tile floor and his fingers find purchase on the little azure disk and he’s scraping it off the shelf a moment later and is tossing it in the trash under the sink a moment after that.

First the vote, he thinks. Then they’d talk.

It all sounded so perfect in his head.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really give away how little I know and understand of the American political process in this story.
> 
> Also, I realize that it could be confusing, since the name I gave to what is a essentially a ‘mating-inhibitor’ is the pill, but basically the pill stops an alpha from going into rut or an omega from going into a heat. In this universe, the pill doesn’t have anything to do with contraception, just bonding hormones.
> 
> Also also, I don’t know why but I didn’t want Thomas’s deceased bondmate to be Martha. Mostly because I didn’t feel like characterizing a historical figure that’s not present in the musical, so I OC’d it into Margo, and like, that’s that.


	2. Thomas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had most of this written when I posted the first chapter, but goddamn did the sex scene trip me the fuck up. I've decided that a month is way too long to keep working on this, so I'm just going to post it, warts and all. Enjoy despite the many flaws!

 

His foot taps out a rapid beat into the ugly carpet of the Senate floor. He focuses on the steady rhythm it creates, the dull thud-thud-thud like a parody of his own rabbit-quick heartbeat. 

It’s meditative, in its own way. 

Still, he feels like he’s a second away from shaking right out of his skin, and no amount of steadying breaths or calming mantras are sufficient to quell the swell of anxiety bubbling under the surface of a stoic façade.

Of course he had been adamant that any anti-discrimination legislation with his name attached to it would be extensive and relentlessly unapologetic, even though Alexander had warned him, _he had warned him_ that that would mean push back, that that would mean narrow margins, late nights and intensive, verging on soul-crushing lobbying, with only helpless uncertainty to show for it. And the bill they’ve painstakingly crafted together is a behemoth, weight and reach that could very well turn the country on its head overnight, and there’s no doubt in Thomas’s mind that anything less wouldn’t have been adequate to sate the itch in his teeth, but the pressure to succeed has tipped over into this daunting expectation that he’s not sure he will be able to meet and panic licks at his heels, an insistent thrum of dread that he can’t seem to shake loose. 

Thud-thud-thud.

Thoughts of failure send his stomach roiling uncomfortably.

The monotone call and response isn’t helping. Name called, vote recorded. Repeat. Multiply it by one hundred more just like it. He tries to shut it out and he fails.

His phone blinks to life and Thomas notices a lone text from John waiting for him. 

He opens it.

_Alex is blasting my phone with candids of your scrunched up face, homie. You doing ok???_

Rolling his eyes, he looks up, fear deflating just enough to make room for exasperation, and he rakes his gaze over the Senate chamber unhurriedly, finds the dark haired omega he’s looking for seated in the visitor’s gallery. Their eyes meet and Alexander slopes his mouth into a sly sort of grin before lowering his gaze to something in his lap.

Thomas’s phone buzzes in his hands.

_John sold me out that quickly huh?_

He types out a reply. _Laurens couldn’t keep a secret from a stranger on the bus._

There’s a hand on his shoulder, a word of congratulations murmured alongside it, and Thomas sets down his phone to express his gratitude in return, ever a politician, matching the gesture with a handshake and a light tap on the Senator’s elbow. 

It’s a balancing act, this. 

He spent the first half of his life learning how to feign sweetness and submission, years of practice pretending to be something he’s not. Years making sure that his facial expressions, his body language, and every other physical cue he could control, read only what he wanted them to. Tonight the muzzle comes off and that means being firm as opposed to the malleable model of an alpha he’s masqueraded as before. That means a tight grip; it means amiable eye contact, and just a flash of teeth. It is not so much a performance as it is a revelation. This is what you’re fighting for. This is what you’ll get.

When he’s left alone again, the air of calm dissolves and his shoulders seize up.

His phone buzzes entreatingly where he’s discarded it.

_Your internal meltdown is hardly a secret btw. John tells me C-SPAN has been streaming it to the nation for the last hour at least._

His phone buzzes again.

_Breaking news, Secretary Jefferson hasn’t slept in a week and has drastically neglected his personal needs._

Again.

_Exhibit A. His face._

His mouth puckers and he wonders why he indulges such brattish behavior. _How insufferable does the cute omega you’re dating need to be before he becomes unfuckable, you think?_

One word gets sent back.

_Rude._

A vote in the negative reaches the alpha’s ears.

Thud-thud-thud.

_Stop trying to distract me. I’m busy having a ‘meltdown’._

He’s trying to deflect, but Alex doesn’t give him the chance, another line of text appearing.

_I’d drop to my knees and suck you dry in front of the whole of Congress right now if it got you to stop biting at your cuticles like that._

A blush burns across his cheeks and the alpha’s eyes flicker upward again just in time to catch the look of glittering delight on his boyfriend’s face. He lowers his nub bitten nails back to his lap.

 _You should come join me for a second._ Another text reads.

 _I’ll make it worth your while. Promise._ Comes in a second.

Thomas watches as three innocuous dots appear to signal the incoming third. 

_I’ve been told that I give great pep talks._

Stressed as he is, he’s convinced.

He stalks across the Senate floor as quickly as his feet will carry him. The change of seating mid-vote is beyond unorthodox, but he doesn’t have space inside of him to care. He lets himself into the visitor’s gallery, makes a straight line for the empty seat Alex gestures to, and sinks down into the chair, relishing the tangle of their fingers and slide of their palms. 

Sensing the tension in his grip, Alexander tilts his head in invitation and Thomas takes a moment to inhale the fragrant scent of his own shampoo in the omega’s hair along with that special something that is decidedly Alex, the mix of aromas compelling and reassuring. 

They spend a few minutes just like that while Thomas composes himself.

“Between my following and Madison’s I don’t know what you’re worrying about,” Alexander murmurs after a long time, breaking the silence. 

He regards Thomas through thick lashes, producing a lazy grin that stretches his pink lips thin. “I mean, you’ve pretty much got this in the bag. We were meticulous; we covered every base, ran all the numbers. What I’m saying is that you can relax. Take it down a couple of notches, yeah? This nervous act of yours really isn’t cute.”

“Fat chance.” He looks away, his foot resumes tapping an insistent staccato into the carpet. “I doubt I’ll unclench again until Washington signs the damn papers himself.”

“That a fact?” Alexander squeezes his palm teasingly.

He misses the note of mischief that edges into Alexander’s voice and doesn’t clue into where the omega is dragging their linked hands until a damp sensation registers on the back of his knuckles and a whisper of citrus tickles his nose. When he realizes what’s happening Thomas whips his head to the side so abruptly that he thinks there’s an audible crack at the suddenness. Fortunate for them, the podium that runs along each row of seats blocks the trajectory of their hands and, well aware of the blind spot Alexander takes advantage of the modest veil of privacy to spread his legs wider, guiding Thomas’s fingers even lower.

The alpha sucks in a surprised gasp.

“What are you doing?” Thomas hisses, color rising to his cheeks. He chances a look down, thinks his boyfriend is exceedingly lucky that the midnight blue of his suit is just dark enough so that the stain is undetectable. And if he hardens just slightly at the sight he’s met with, that’s not for anyone to know but himself.

Shamelessly pleased with Thomas’s reaction, Alexander cocks his head. “I just get so excited seeing you win, papi.”

“Alexander,” he admonishes, though the weak manner in which the scolding tone is delivered does little to deter his boyfriend.

Holding the alpha’s hand hostage between his legs, Alexander leans in to inhale at the pulse point of his neck and Thomas feels a jolt in the depths of his abdomen as the omega’s breathy exhalation caresses his cheek. His head spins. 

Just below him, Alexander’s nostrils flare, drinking in the answering scent of arousal coming off of the alpha. “What’s not to like? You’re going to win tonight, gorgeous. You’re going to show every condescending, bigoted fuck-stick who looked down on you and yours where to shove it and I get to be by your side when you do. I get to watch you make history.”

The omega presses a fleeting kiss to Thomas’s stun-slacked mouth. 

“And after you win,” the omega continues, voice dropping low. “I get the pleasure of taking you back to our apartment where you’re going to fuck this needy hole into next week, you feel me?”

Affronted and yet hopelessly amused, Thomas lets the hint of a smile to ghost his lips, laughs, and dips his nose into Alexander’s hair one last time, sighing against the omega’s crown. “Christ, you’re unbelievable.” 

He pulls back, surprised that Alexander lets him go as easily as he does, and adjusts himself quickly before rising to his feet. 

“I should get back.” He says, jerking his head back in the direction of his seat.

“I guess you should.” Alexander mouth slants upward and his eyes soften. “You feel better though?”

He’s surprised to realize that he does. Thomas nods. “I’ll see you after?”

Crossing his legs smoothly, Alex beams at his boyfriend. “Sure thing, babe.”

It’s wildly tempting to stay right where he is, wait out the remainder of the vote with Alex pressed against his side, the soothing bouquet of his scent delighting his senses, but by some strange miracle Thomas is able to rip himself away. He returns to his seat, fiddles with his phone for a little bit, and tries his best not to stew. The vote continues, more people stop by, and more than once Thomas has to redirect his thoughts when they stray to Alexander.

It’s not long before Thomas feels the omega’s watchful eyes on him again and a quick glance across the chambers confirms it. He’s not sure what comes over him, but he’s feeling strangely bold and uninhibited. So he lifts his fingers to his mouth and watches as the inquisitive expression on Alexander’s face sharpens into something bordering on vicious. Subtly is far from his thoughts, and Thomas chases the trace of slick left behind, finds the taste of Alexander on his palate oddly calming. 

It’s hard to tell, but Thomas thinks he sees a spot of red bloom on Alexander’s lip in the distance, thinks he sees the omega’s tongue dart out to lap at it until it disappears from view. 

It’s hard to tell.

 

***

 

He won.

He _won_. Fuck, he can’t believe it.

His bill _passed_.

He feels like he’s been sent into orbit. He’s soaring.

“A word, Secretary Jefferson!”

Microphones are shoved at him. He’s outside; cool evening air brushes against his heated skin. Thomas clutches the mic nearest, uses it as support, grounding himself with the feel of it in his palm. 

He tries to focus as the questions come flying and fights down the urge to bolt as he verges on becoming overwhelmed by the magnitude of press shouting at him for a comment. There’s too much happening all at once and he can’t seem to catch his breath. 

A single voice penetrates through the noise and, desperate for a thread to follow, Thomas reorients around it. He launches into an answer that’s second nature by now, ticks down a list of talking points he’s spent the last nine months honing to perfection, and somewhere inside of his response his vision rights itself and he’s able to discern who it is he’s speaking to.

The reporter is boyish. Baby-faced. Thick head of loose curls and a glowing complexion decorated with a smattering of freckles that puts thoughts of John in his head. Thomas sniffs curiously and is instantly hit with something chemical and astringent. The boy smells like pine, but not like that of sprawling woods, but like the little spongy trees, artificial and harsh, the kind taxi drivers hang from their rearview mirrors. It hits him that there’s something familiar in the way the reporter holds himself. He recognizes the flickering gaze, how the man’s eyes struggle to connect longer than a few seconds at a time, like he’s fighting a lifelong habit of looking down.

“What’s your name?” Thomas asks and the question is sudden, seems to have the effect of unbalancing the other alpha. Yes, alpha. Thomas is sure that’s what he is. 

The man fumbles with his name like he’s not used to giving it away. “It’s… my name is Philip, sir.”

“Philip.” Thomas repeats, eyeing the press credential hanging from the young man’s neck. Knowing what he knows, he’s not all that surprised that the laminated ID bares a different name. 

He’s not interested in pretending to ignore his discovery, so Thomas produces a business card from his jacket pocket without hesitation and holds it out in offer. Philip, staring at him in confused silence, tentatively reaches out to receive it. 

“There’s an issue with your credentials.” Thomas says, gesturing to the ID. “You should probably get that fixed.”

The young man pales. Thomas continues. “Under the new bill, they can’t terminate your contract if you can prove preferential hiring practices based on designation, which won’t be too difficult. Even then, I happen to know a few lawyers that would be happy to help you if you’d like. If you give my office a call we can work out the details.”

The smaller alpha shoves the card into his pocket, revealing canines in a timid smile. “Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I—I will.”

An outburst of questions follows, but Thomas waves them away, exhausted. 

“Sorry, that’s my time for tonight everyone.” He says, biting back a snarl when a flash goes off a little too close to his face. “A statement will be released in the morning. Goodnight.”

Despite the clear dismissal, the desperate clamber for his attention persists, the press swarming closer, and the reporter, Philip, disappearing in the ensuing crowd. A security detail appears from behind much to Thomas’s relief and guides him from the chaos with relative ease into a nearby alcove blockaded by additional secret service. The space is a blessing, and Thomas feels some of the tension drain from his shoulders. He spares his phone some attention, wading through the staggering influx of text messages and voicemail waiting for him, answering what he can.

The guards surrounding Thomas shift nervously, but noticing Alexander’s approaching figure Thomas is quick to call them off. 

“It’s okay. He’s with me.”

The line of security parts and Thomas takes the omega into his arms.

“Hey.” 

Alexander smiles slyly, an innocent sort of thing that belies the true nature of the look. 

Thomas plays along. “Hey yourself.”

Alex smile stretches, his open lips brushing Thomas’s. Thomas startles, his nostrils flaring suddenly as something spicy and alluring blooms in the air between them, and he finds himself leaning forward, lips parting, pressing deeper, incensed.

“You did it.” The omega purrs pulling back, still close enough that Thomas doesn’t howl at the loss, still clutching at him in a way that placates the sudden need for closeness. 

“We did it.” Thomas corrects, ducking back into Alexander’s space, his nose trailing down the omega’s throat. 

“Always the gentleman,” Alex teases, melting under the attention. “I’m so fucking proud of you, baby.” 

Thomas believes him. Knows that Alexander doesn’t bullshit. Sees the smugness practically dripping from the expression on the omega’s face and wishes he could do something about it, reward the omega for his unwavering faith in a way that slacks his features with bliss and clouds his eyes with pleasure. Alexander seems to be riding the same wavelength because in the next moment his voice drops into a breathy rasp, his fingers tightening where they clutch at Thomas’s shoulders. 

“Take me home.” Alex whines and Thomas shakes with barely contained lust. “Put me in our bed.”

They are frustratingly in public, surrounded by press who will fight for a piece of them the moment they’re back in reach.

One of the guards turns and addresses them with curt words and a nod toward the street.

“There’s a car waiting if you’d like to depart now, sir.”

In his arms, Alexander grins.

It’s a coordinated effort, the men encircling them as they make their escape into the government vehicle, but they make it without causing too much of a stir. The both of them are blessedly left alone in the back seats while two of their security sit up in the front, a partition giving them just enough privacy that Alex feels emboldened, pulling Thomas to him as soon as their door is pulled shut. The alpha has difficulty tracking time after that, with the way Alex is sucking at his tongue like it’s candy impossibly distracting, but then they’re pulling over, stumbling out of the backseat in a heap of tangled limbs, waving off the security detail as they go.

It’s in the lobby of their building that it occurs to Thomas that something is off. There’s something extra about the way they’re going at each other. He’s usually more controlled, likes to drag it out, make Alex sweat for it, but there’s an insistence in both of them that has them acting like teenagers, knot-crazy and frenzied. With nobody to witness or stop them, they slot themselves together in the elevator and Alex sighs against Thomas’s throat, a hot brush of air that prickles at the alpha’s senses, his body thrumming with heat. He’s not sure why he feels so needy, so abruptly wanton and desperate to get Alex under him, pinned and kept. Commanding and pushy, he arranges the omega how he wants him, and practically drags him out of the elevator when the doors open to their floor.

Inside their apartment, door latched; Thomas shoves Alex against the nearest wall non-too gently and studies him. He’s hyperaware of the omega, the exact shade of brown of his eyes, the flush of his parted lips. He smells like _them_ , like they’re two parts of the same whole, and instinct tells him to move closer, to squash the distance until it’s impossible to tell where he begins and Alexander ends. 

There’s an undercurrent of something primal driving them. He realizes Alex smells different. Sweeter somehow.

“You smell…” Another sniff and Thomas freezes as a strange thought crosses his mind. 

No, Thomas thinks. No, he couldn’t be.

Alexander whines impatiently and thumps his head back against the wall in frustration. “Why the fuck did you stop, baby?”

“You smell like…” Thomas looks down, breathes though his nose, and tries to calm down. He struggles to form the words. “You smell like you’re going into heat.”

The omega blinks slowly, clearly confused, and he’s a second from taking it back but then the light drains from Alexander’s eyes.

“Oh fuck.” Alexander tenses and he’s no longer leaning against the wall, he’s pushing himself unsteadily to his feet, fingers flying to the lapels of Thomas’s jacket. “No. It’s too soon… It’s only been a month, I—I thought…” Alex gives a hysterical gasp of laughter. “Fuck, Thomas. I wanted to talk to you. We were going to sit down and talk. Work out a plan. I wasn’t trying to spring this on you, I swear. This was going to be a conversation.”

A dim alarm sounds in the back of Thomas’s mind. “What are you…? Talk about what?”

The omega’s face turns red. “You know… _this_.”

“What?” He probes, dread pooling in his stomach.

“Sharing a heat,” Alex explains. “I was going to bring it up after the vote.”

“Fucked that right up though,” Alex is quick to add, nervously tugging at Thomas’s collar.

A hundred questions fly through his brain, like bolts of lightning in an electric storm.

“You went off the pill?” he grits out, betrayal burning bright in his heart. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

The guilt the comes off Alexander is palpable.

“I was going to!” the omega insists, moving as though to put a hand to the alpha’s neck, but Thomas waves away the touch, doesn’t think he could handle it right now. 

“Thomas, listen—”

“This isn’t right.” Thomas interrupts, taking in the dilation of the omega’s eyes, only a thin rim of brown left at the periphery. He could still feel the pull of intense want in his gut but it’s spoiled now. He couldn’t trust himself and apparently he couldn’t trust his boyfriend either.

“Jesus Christ, Alex.” Thomas says, tugging himself free. “You’ve been in pre-heat for hours now. How’re you even standing?”

Alexander tries to initiate contact again, but the alpha just keeps moving back. 

“Thomas, just wait. I’m fine. Please, can we just talk about this?”

“Stay the fuck away from me.” He spits out.

He takes another step back. He takes enough steps until he’s just inside their bedroom, distances himself until he can slam the door shut behind him, lock engaged.

The door shudders in its frame. “Thomas, don’t run away from me! Talk to me!”

Alex quickly loses his cool as the knob fails to yield under his aggression. Thomas just stares, losing his own battle over his emotions as well.

“Shit. Shitshitshit.” A loud bang sounds against the door. “Fuck. Call John.” 

“What’s he got to do with anything?” Another fucking surprise to add to the pile.

“Please just call John,” The omega begs, his fist knocking fruitlessly against the wood. “He can vouch for me. He can explain it.”

“What are you— ?” He cuts himself off, decides whatever explanation Alex could give him at this point would be unsatisfactory. “You know what? Fine.” 

He slides his phone from his pocket and with deft fingers pulls up the beta’s contact info, thumbing the call icon before pressing the device to his ear.

It only takes a few seconds for the call to connect. “Laurens?”

“Tommy boy! My man, my man!” The beta shouts into the receiver, fighting to get his voice heard over the bombardment of voices filtering in through the background. “Congratulations on the vote. People are freaking the fuck out. It’s amazing, dude!”

“Laurens. Listen. I need to talk to you.”

“What’s going on?” The connection crackles for a moment as John shifts his phone. “You sound stressed. Hold up, let me step out for a second.”

Thomas’s heart thumps frantically in his chest as he waits. 

“Yo?” John says a minute later, his voice coming through clear.

“So, Alex is off the pill…” he says with as much patience as he can muster, which admittedly, is not a lot.

John makes a noise of surprise. “Oh shit. He told you that?”

That is decidedly not something he wants to hear. “What else was I not supposed to know?”

“Uhhh… I know we’re tight and all, Tommy but like I got to keep some of my boy’s secrets, you know?”

The alpha grits his teeth. “Your ‘boy’ is currently barricaded outside of our bedroom because he’s sitting on the precipice of a heat I wasn’t aware he was capable of having.”

“Oh fuck, that’s wild!”

“It is… wild.” Thomas pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look, Laurens. Help me make sense of this because I’m struggling here.”

The line crackles as the beta shifts his phone again.

“Okay, but what’s there to make sense of really? Homeboy wanted to share a heat with you. Don’t think you really needed me to walk you to that conclusion, did you?”

“Eat shit, John.” Thomas spits out before he can stop himself, although he instantly tries to walk it back. “Fuck, sorry. Just— Alex told me to call you. Said you could explain it?”

The teasing note in John’s voice fades out and he sounds a little more serious when he replies next. “You’re losing me now, boss. Explain what?”

“I don’t know!” He exclaims, feeling what little hold he had on the situation slipping away. “Listen, you’re going to have to come collect him. Bring your car and any neutralizing spray you have. He can’t stay here tonight.”

John scoffs. “Hold up, you’re not seriously considering letting him go through his heat alone, right? Tommy, what the fuck, man?”

“He can’t consent to shit right now, let alone a pairing bond.” Thomas growls pointedly. “You need to come get him.”

“I’m completely lucid!” Alex, listening through the door, shouts. “All major brain functions accounted for! Would actually be thrilled to be included in this conversation if that was an option!”

In his ear, the beta snorts. “It doesn’t sound like he’s all that heat-stupid to me, Tommy.”

Frustration bubbles up inside of him. “I’m not taking that risk, okay? He’s been in preheat for hours now, so you get your ass over here and separate us before one of us does something we’ll both regret.”

Incredibly, John still fights him. “Look, Hamie is stupid in love with you, motherfucker. He’s all ride or die about it. You’re the end all be all. I kind of think you should at least talk to him about this before you just throw him to the curb, you know?”

Thomas sneers. “Wow. Thanks for that expert opinion, Dr. Phil.”

Through the phone, John lets out a mean bark of laughter. “Yeah, you got me. I talk to your boyfriend about his feelings. Sick burn. Fetch me the aloe, dickhead.”

Thomas’s temper flares. He snarls, “Go fuck yourself.”

More forced laughter filters through Thomas’s speaker and John is practically spitting into the receiver.

“No, you know what? Guess what? I’m gonna let you act up right now, all right? I’m gonna let you act up. And I ain’t gonna do nothing about it. And I’m going to hear about this shit tomorrow, all right? I’m excited.”

And then John hangs up.

“Fucking asshole.” Thomas hisses and throws the phone into the bed, watches as it bounces over the edge and disappears somewhere under the dresser.

He’s stuck.

A soft knock comes from the door. “Um… is everything alright?”

“I meant it affectionately obviously.” His voice is soft but livid. “You’re a fucking asshole too, you know that?”

“You’re right. I can definitely hear affection from the tone of your voice now that you mention it.” The joke falls flat. “Think we can swing this door open and reassess things?” Alex asks tentatively.

“You want to talk? Let’s talk.” He can smell the lingering bite of his distress in the air, knows the omega can too. “When did this start?”

“About a month ago.” Alex blurts out in a strained rush. “Remember that day I was acting weird? Kind of clingy? The… the bruises?”

“Yeah.” He remembers. “You went out for drinks with Laurens and when you came back you seemed better, so I didn’t ask.”

Through the door, Thomas hears Alex hum out an affirmative.

“I was having some anxieties about our relationship. All irrational, you know? We were doing great. Committed, just moved into the apartment together, both of us safe and healthy.”

Thomas squirms uncomfortably at the implications of Alex’s phrasing. “What were you worried about then?”

“I realized that I needed you and it scared the shit out of me.” Alex admits. “Like I need to see you everyday. I need to hear you speak. I need you scent, and your big dumb brain, and that fucking smirk of yours. I fucking need it all and even the prospect of being denied that sent me into a full on panic. I told John about it and well, he made a suggestion.”

Thomas does the math. “So you decided for the both of us.”

“I decided for myself,” Alex stresses. “The idea was that you would decide what you wanted when we actually had a minute to spare for something non-vote related again. Was I hedging my bets? Yeah, of course. But it was always going to come down to you, baby. I thought it would take longer for my cycle to start up again. I thought I had another two months before we’d even be having this conversation. John gave me the world’s shittiest medical advice and my understanding of reproductive health is also supremely lacking, and like the impulsive, inconsiderate asshole I am, I trashed my suppressants. I was stupid; I should have gone to a doctor at least, but with all the campaigning for the bill and everything else, it slipped my mind. I never meant to put you in this position. I wasn’t trying to trick you, Thomas. I fucking swear, if you believe anything I’m saying, believe that.”

“Why a bond?” Thomas asks, chewing nervously at his lip.

There’s a pause and then a muted whine from outside the bedroom.

“Can you come closer first?” Alexander asks, a light tremor in his voice. “Please?”

He hates the pained way the question comes out and even though they’re fighting he immediately submits to the request, shifting to the floor by the door. “Is this better?”

“Yeah,” The omega gasps, sounding a little breathless. “This kind of reminds me of the first time I took you back to my old place. You remember that?”

Thomas goes on like he hasn’t heard him, his voice even, matter-of-fact. “Why a bond?”

“Because I’m selfish,” Alex sighs. “Because I’m selfish and I’m always hungry and I’m done searching because you fill in the empty bits like nothing else ever has, and because you know how to take me apart and build me back up better than I was.” 

Thomas’s chest tightens painfully. “Alex…”

Alex keeps going. “I—I want this bond because it’s like you said, we’re partners. We’re in this together and everyday I find it harder and harder to separate you and me in my head. There’s just _us_. And I worry— I worry…” Alex shudders. “I worry that I’m not going to get as much time as I want with you because nothing is promised, you know? But with the time we’ve got, I want it all. All the parts of you that you want to give."

The omega’s voice becomes suspiciously wet, but Thomas can’t blame him as he wipes tears from his own cheek. 

“But if you’re not into this,” Alex continues. “Then it stops. I get that. This isn’t just about me. We can put this on hold for now, or indefinitely if that’s what you want… You know me, I’ll take what I can get.”

Neither of them speaks for a moment.

“I’ve been thinking about it too.” Thomas whispers eventually. He can’t bare the thought of Alexander thinking that his feelings are one-sided, even if this whole thing was handled with spectacular indelicacy.

The omega’s shadow creeps into the bedroom from under the door. “You have?”

“Of course.” He doesn’t know how Alexander can sound so surprised at the prospect of Thomas wanting forever with him. “Still. I didn’t expect this.”

“I’m sorry.” The omega apologizes. He sounds sincere.

“I need to think.” Thomas continues. 

“Okay.” Alex says through the door. He sounds calm. “Take your time.”

 

***

 

It’s only fifteen minutes later when a small tap sounds against the door and a small voice calls out to him.

Thomas has begun to feel the effects of Alex’s heat, feels the slight dizziness that signals that rut is on its way.

He’s stuck. 

He’s fantasized about this, has given it more thought than he’d like to admit to although it’s no secret how wrapped up in Alex he is. Still, the abrupt nature in which the night has unfurled before them has thrown him into a spiral and his thoughts are in an untidy heap in need of sorting.

“I’m sorry,” Alex murmurs, sounding genuinely upset. “I’m dropping faster than I thought I would. If you need to leave, you should go.” The omega barely conceals a whine. “I don’t think I’ll be able to trust myself not to cheat if we wait any longer.”

The notion that he could walk passed Alexander, made pliant and fragrant by his impending heat, and out of their apartment at this point is ludicrous. Thomas wonders if Alexander knows that. Can’t help but wonder if this is meant to be a trap to get him outside the bedroom walls. Struggles to convince himself that no, Alexander wouldn’t do that to him. Wouldn’t manipulate him like that.

“It’s okay. I’ll be okay.” The omega shudders and whines, his mouth running when Thomas fails to respond. “I’ll call John, I’ll— fuck…” Thomas grinds his teeth together as another burst of candy-sweet aromas fill the apartment.

Everything he’s ever wanted waits for him outside their bedroom door, and still Thomas hesitates. He’s plagued by uncertainty, memories of another omega, and another life filled with careless prodding and pressure. He remembers what it felt like to live without control, a life dictated by the pull of another, and now that he’s his own master, holding all the strings himself a part of him bristles at the idea of sharing the reigns with anyone else. Frets at what will become of him if he does.

He isn’t sure what to do. He wants Alex. Wants him like he’s very rarely allowed himself to want anything before, but he’s frozen in place. ‘What if, what if’ running through his head on an endless loop.

“I’m calling him.” Alex murmurs, and Thomas hears the door rattle again in its frame. “It can’t happen like this. Not when you don’t know. I want it to be real when— uh, if it happens. Are you listening, Thomas? If this happens, I want it to be real.”

His mind flips through his memories, replaying that dreadful night one more time. He remembers the sense of loss that filled him afterward, that empty space that she craved out of his chest and never returned, taken. Him left gapping and hollow once her fun had been interrupted. Him woefully aware that he had been nothing more than a plaything for her amusement.

With the way his thoughts are turning over on themselves he can’t help but hold Alexander up for comparison, tries to cram his wonderful, strange boyfriend into the place she’s staked out in his mind forever, but he doesn’t fit.

And like that, Thomas realizes that Alex never would.

The tension in his shoulders loosens and something inside Thomas gives a little sigh and rolls over.

He comes unstuck.

Pushing himself to his feet, Thomas throws off the latch and pushes into the living room just in time to see Alexander stumbling back toward the couch, phone clutched tightly in hand. The wave of heat strikes him like a physical force and Thomas stumbles, has to scrunch his eyes shut for just a moment and fight for his higher brain functions for just awhile longer. He steals himself and opens his eyes.

They regard each other curiously.

“Thomas?” Alexander murmurs and the alpha notes how the omega is trembling where he stands. His pants are drenched now, soaked in his slick. Pungent. It’s all Thomas can do not to cross the room a shred the garment from the other’s legs.

“We’re not ready for a baby. Did you plan for that?”

Across the room, Alexander swallows, jerks his head up and down in the affirmative. “There are condoms in the nightstand.”

“We’ll have to make our status public. Everyone’s going to know what you are to me. What I am to you.”

Almost within reach and yet with what feels like a chasm between them, their struggle to tamp down their urges has them both vibrating with quiet energy. 

“That’s the idea.” Alexander blinks slowly, his eyes almost black, pupils blown wide.

“Promise me you’ll never keep something like this from me again.” Lightheaded and left weak with cravings, his restraint stretches thin. “Even if you think you’re doing it to protect me. Don’t. Just tell me.”

The omega keens softly, unintentionally by the looks of the blush that darkens his cheeks, and digs his teeth into his bottom lip. “I promise.”

Thomas lets his eyes linger over the other man, helpless, slack-jawed yearning in his expression, hunger and determination in his eyes.

“You’ve got this look on your face,” Thomas comments lightly, distracted for a moment. “Like you want to eat me.”

Alex gingerly approaches him, like he’s worried about scaring him off and his nostrils flare again. His tongue peeks out from between his lips, drawing Thomas’s eye. “Is that an option?”

Thomas’s lip curls back, a low thrumming growl accompanying his words. “I want your mark.”

“I want to mark you.” Alexander breathes in sharply looking awestricken and hopeful underneath swelling need. “Is this happening? Thomas?”

“Come here.” Thomas beckons.

The omega doesn’t need to be told twice.

Alexander burns a trail to him, and in the moment that follows Thomas has himself wrapped around his pretty omega in a brutal embrace, not so much kissing Alex as breathing him in. They wrestle with each other’s clothing, both of them too frantic for something gentle and explorative. Before Alex can even shuck his shorts, Thomas loses his patience, crowds Alexander onto the bed, pushing him onto it, allowing the omega to wrap his legs around him before they both fall into the sheets. Tongues and half-clad bodies roll sensually together, frotting in a sweaty haze of arousal.

Warmth coils inside Thomas, familiar and sweet.

“You want this, darling?” He gasps, pawing at the omega’s ass and back, tugging him impossibly closer.

Alexander moans in response, nodding and winding his arms around Thomas’s neck as though he needs him for the support.

“Show me,” Thomas says, nipping along the vulnerable column of exposed throat. “Can you do that for me, sweet thing?”

“But—but, oh!” Alexander grunts as Thomas shifts forward, grinding their groins together. “What about—”

“Shhhhhh. Not yet, darling.” Thomas whispers smooth in his ear, his breath ghosting over the tender skin. “We’ve got all night and I want to see you fuck your hand for just a bit, get myself desperate for you until I’m absolutely gasping for it like you are, baby.”

It’s not payback exactly, but Thomas feels something like vindication at the helpless look of longing Alexander shoots him when he backs off, a cruel, teasing smile on his own face.

Groaning, Alexander pulls his boxers down as far as mid thigh, the fabric soaked through. The omega spreads his legs as far as he can, as much as the restraint of the undergarment allows him, trying to expose his aching hole to even the slightest bit of friction. He looks filthy, his dick sticking up out of the cotton shorts, his thighs quivering. Thomas watches with rapt attention as Alexander traces his fingers up his length before picking up a steady rhythm.

Thomas takes it all in, the flush and sheen of sweat covering the exposed flesh, the rock hard, rose hued cock caressed by elegant fingers and a quick hand. 

“You like that?” he asks, noting the pleasant flush to the omega’s features.

“I’d like it better if you joined in,” Alexander stutters out, his hand moving in a fierce way now.

Torn between wanting to shove that hand away and replace it with any part of his own body, Thomas can’t help but agree, wanting nothing more but to take advantage of Alexander like this; wanton and impulsive, aggressive but yielding. Alexander moans again, vulgar and loud. Without warning the alpha curls his fingers around the omega’s dick, dislodging Alex’s hand before giving him one smooth, long stroke, which leaves Alex squealing. 

“ _Thomas_ …” Alex pleads, the word coming out in a stutter of breath, erratic and uncontrolled. By the sound of him, Thomas thinks the omega must be close already. “Thomas… _please_.”

Alexander’s desperation is nothing short of glorious to Thomas. It becomes clear just how lost the omega is to his heat, his brain so pleasure-scrambled that the brattish behavior melts away leaving a creature of compliance in its place.

“So polite,” he murmurs and Alex moans, rutting furiously into the alpha’s grip. “What have you done with my Alexander?”

“Cuéntame, papi.” Alexander’s breaths come short and heavy, desperate for more. “Dime lo que quieres.”

“So pretty when you beg like that. I love the way you sound.” There’s a flip in his stomach, something between butterflies and a sudden drop. “But you don’t need to beg, baby.”

His hands are groping at the softness of the omega’s sides, then sliding to hips and holding on. He mouths down Alexander’s belly, along the faint trail of hair leading him down his navel.

Alex’s hips twitch upward but Thomas is quick to hold him down, bracketing his strong arms around the other man’s thighs, keeping eye contact as he licks across the omega’s slit before he sucks hard on the head. The omega cries out and thrashes helplessly as Thomas slides down a little further, flattening his tongue and letting Alex’s cock drag against it.

“You’re— uh, uhuhuh…” Alexander’s breath hitches. “Fuck! You’re supposed to be fucking me.”

The alpha pulls back, placing a hand at the base of his captured lover’s dick, jerking him off gently as he goes back to bobbing his mouth around Alex, letting the head of his cock drag obscenely against his cheek.

“You’re deranged.” Alex gasps, head falling to the side, agape and muttering curses.

“Hips up,” Thomas rasps, pulling away for just a moment. He lets a finger snap the elastic still clinging to Alexander’s thighs. “Want these off now.”

Alexander shimmies franticly out of the sodden undergarment, leaving his lower half glorious bare. Delicious, dazed, and all his to indulge in. His lips and tongue surround the omega’s cock, sliding to the base, sucking it clean with a gentle smack. He hadn’t thought he could be any more aroused, but the taste on his tongue and the way Alexander squirms is just too much, his hands clutching at the sheets beneath him, Thomas shoulders one leg and shoves the other knee up, moves his mouth lower to tease at the omega’s hole. He laps at Alex’s opening with enthusiasm, stubble tickling the sensitive skin, explorative swipes of his tongue causing the omega to weep.

“Come for me,” Thomas soothes and Alexander throws himself back flat against the sheets at the directive, hips bucking up, a string of obscenities leaving his lips as he finally reaches that crescendo, body convulsing with the brute force of his orgasm.

Thomas looms over him the instant it happens, fingers digging under Alexander’s arched back, pulling him upright, driving his tongue into the omega’s mouth, sharing the slick that coats his mouth, and not allowing him a second to come down, working the pleasure over with more heated words, pet names and promises of a reward for being so good.

“I’m impressed.” Thomas says when he finally gives Alexander a moment to catch his breath.

Alex is hazy-eyed, but responsive beneath him.

“I’m impressive,” he says back.

Thomas watches as the omega stretches languidly across the bed, arm reaching out over his head to fumble with the nightstand drawer for a moment before he produces a single foil package.

“I think I’m ready for the main event though.”

Thomas growls, ignores the package, and sinks two fingers knuckle-deep into Alexander’s hole. Alexander calls out his name in a howling moan and follows it with a breathless string of profanity, writhing around the sudden intrusion.

“You’re so wet, sweet thing.” His fingers slid easily in the velvet heat and he adds another finger. “I’m going to take care of you, you understand? I know what you crave, darling. Got it right here. Gonna give it to you.”

He grinds forward, lets the head of his cock push against Alexander’s inner thigh like a promise of things to come, laps at a stray tear that streams down his face.

“Please…” The omega implores, his eyes closed now and breath fluttering against Thomas’s cheek.

He rips open the packet left discarded on the sheets and rolls the condom on. Alexander is all moans and whimpers, hot lips and soft, damp skin. Thomas enters the other man, slips inside like it’s where he’s meant to be, and Alexander wraps himself so tightly around the alpha it’s as if he’ll never let him go. 

Pinned, drunk off the attention, and filled to the hilt, Alex is a babbling mess beneath him, falling apart with each thrust. He screams as the beginnings of the knot begin to push at the base of his rim, the expanded girth rubbing enticingly at his entrance. Mutters something frantic and incoherent. 

Thomas croons at Alexander softly as something wild purrs happily in his chest. His skin feels scorched where they’re touching and Thomas would gladly burn for just a tenth of this feeling now even as his body itches for more.

“Knot me.” Alex demands, trying to work himself desperately further onto Thomas’s cock. “Take me. Don’t let go. Don’t let go.”

“Never.”

He bends to press kisses against Alexander’s cheekbones, his chin, the corners of his eyes.

They rut helplessly together and Thomas shoves the rest of the way in, feels the way Alexander wriggles, impaled and stuck on his cock, and pitches forward, teeth finding their way to the omega’s neck. He sinks his canines into skin, clenches his jaw, and only relents his hold when a surprising flash of pain registers in his own neck. His lips part, blood on his tongue, and when he shifts Alexander follows, latched onto the muscle at the curve of throat.

He comes to the sight of a bloody smile.

 

***

 

He can hear someone’s muffled conversation, thinks he recognizes James’s voice, thinks he can pick out Laurens as well.

“Why’d he do that?” He hears James ask.

The sound of Laurens snorting carries into the bedroom. “I think it’s because he’s a ridiculous human being.”

His arm is dead under Alexander’s weight, but with the way his omega is snuffling adorably into his chest, he can’t find it within himself to care.

The door cracks open.

“Thomas? Are you decent?”

Thomas looks over lazily at the summoning, unwilling to unearth himself from the nest of sheets around him.

“What are you doing here?” He asks instead, blearily looking over at his friends.

“I’m going to be generous and assume you forgot to let anyone know you were alive due to extenuating circumstances.” James eyes the lump in the bed that is his mate with derision.

Thomas snorts and wipes a hand across his face. Has the presence of mind to give a quick check that all his bits are covered. “It wasn’t exactly how I planned my evening either.”

“Still,” James murmurs, clapping his hands together. “Congratulations. Sweeping social reform and a new bondmate all in less than twenty-four hours. You’ve had yourself a day.”

John, suspiciously quiet, stares at Thomas with a hitched eyebrow.

Thomas caves under the look. “Sorry about last night, Laurens.”

The beta smirks and shrugs. “Don’t mention it.”

Approaching the still sleeping omega, John jumps onto the bed, upsetting Alexander who jerks awake, hand darting out to grip at Thomas’s wrist on instinct.

John beams from where he’s landed, half on top of Alexander and half spilling over the side of the bed.

“Baby girl!” He greets before sticking his finger into the raw looking bite mark on his neck much to the omega’s annoyance. “Looks like Tommy broke the seal. Should get that checked out.”

“Stop giving Alexander medical advice,” James snaps, tugging John’s prodding finger away before Alex can swat him. “Alphas have enzymes we don’t in their saliva. As long as Thomas keeps him clean he’ll be fine.”

Blinking owlishly, Alex yawns; looking away from John only to burst into laughter once he catches sight of his alpha’s hair.

Thomas rolls his eyes and does his best to wrestle his curls into something presentable, the slight blow to his vanity only softened by the sheer delight that Alex seems to take from it. Laughter turns the omega’s face a lovely shade of pink, one that, despite the mocking that inspired it, Thomas has always liked the look of. Eventually Alexander’s giggles subside and Thomas asks if his appearance is acceptable in a snotty tone that betrays the air of indifference he’s going for, and Alex, bless him, lets his gaze roam over Thomas’s face with a look of fondness that makes up for the teasing and nods his approval.

“Okay, that’s foul.” John gags, rolling out of the bed. “Anyway, we brought OJ and I’m pretty sure I remember seeing champagne in the mini fridge last time I was here. You motherfuckers owe me brunch for what you two put me through last night.”

It’s nearly five o’clock, so brunch is a stretch, Thomas thinks, but he nods anyway.

For what he got out of all of this, it’s a debt he’s willing to pay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus random ass scene from the ensuing brunch where this story ends:
> 
>  
> 
> “Do we really have to talk right now?” Alex whines, cuddling into Thomas side. “I’m so brain dead. Can’t we just eat on the couch and watch House Hunters or something?”
> 
> “I always thought couples only put on House Hunters so they didn’t get bored during sex.” James says around a mouthful of crepe.
> 
> John nods, slamming down the remains of his mimosa and standing to refresh his glass. “Yeah, I can’t do House Hunters as ambient hookup entertainment. I’d forget about the actual boning.”


End file.
